Needed Elsewhere
by TrashKan
Summary: "Knowing you're going to a different universe where you will have to fight and kill others just to survive is one thing, actually doing it is something else entirely." - I've been 'volunteered' to save the Mass Effect universe, Shepard needs help and apparently I'm the one to give it. I know what's going to happen, but that just makes the burden greater. SI/FemShep
1. A matter of luck

**This is a self insert (sort of, not really me) elements of greater realism in some respects and for those who are wondering its si/femshep. For the followers of shadows and ash that story has not been abandoned, even though its been a while. I plan to release new chapters for both stories relatively soon.**

* * *

I'd like to start off by saying that I don't believe in luck. Luck in and of itself is not a force within the universe and there is nothing that you can do or say to convince me otherwise. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that you can't be lucky or unlucky, (You definitely can be) but luck is often little more than a matter of perspective.

For example just six days ago I was heading for my 21st birthday party where pretty much all of my friends and family were gathered when I got stuck In traffic which meant that I arrived just seconds after a freak explosion tore the restaurant apart killing everyone inside. Now you could argue that I was lucky for having avoided the blast but at the same time I just lost everything of real value in my life, so lucky most certainly is not a word any thoughtful person would use to describe me.

Now I'm standing at the front of a throng of people as an chaplain speaks about people I'm fairly certain he didn't really know at all and I can't stop thinking about how unlucky I am being the only one left. I mean I'm the one that survived but right now I'm struggling to see any value in that fact and despite all the platitudes and well wishes I have received and will receive in future I know I won't be feeling anything resembling lucky for quite some time If ever again.

I don't want to be here. Everyone and everything here is a reminder of those who aren't, every word spoken a reminder of those who will never speak again, and although no one is daring to do it overtly I can feel the eyes of dozens people staring at me as if they're expecting me to spontaneously combust at any moment.

I really don't want to be here.

But I won't leave until after most of the crowd has, because although I have never really seen a point in the spectacle that a funeral can be I feel that if anyone needs to be here it's me and staying is the last great sign of respect I think I can show to the people that were my world.

The chaplain is still speaking but I can't bear to listen to him so look to my left and catch five different people suddenly shifting their gaze from me to the ground or the chaplain or the long row of coffins, but what truly catches my eye is the one person who doesn't look away, but rather just smiles at me as if I'm supposed to be happy about something.

I stare back at him a little more attentively and frown when I realise that he looks just like me only wrong. I'm wearing a black pinstripe suit with a dark blue shirt and tie, but he is wearing a white tuxedo jacket with bright red pants and shirt and a tie that appears to be a light blue or purple. (between the red shirt and the glaring sunlight I can't really tell) Either way he looks just gnarly and that's before you take into account the fact that his skin is incredibly pale and his hair appears to be a dark green.

I shift my gaze away from him when I realise that everyone else is bowing their heads in prayer and I do the same. Once the prayer is over I look back but my mysterious doppelganger is nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Later on, when people start leaving I look around once more for my double but my search comes up empty. I didn't drive here this morning but I turn down all offers of a lift as I leave the cemetery because I want to get away from all of this as soon as possible and I don't want to go home right now. So I walk and walk as I attempt to process the fact that for the first time in my life I truly feel alone.

After an hour or four (I'm really not certain) I find myself In a busier section of the city and I decide to head home. So I start looking for a taxi and see a few of them sitting at the side of the road half a block away picking up shoppers. I head in that direction but end up having to wait to cross the road and a small group of people move around me as we wait for the pedestrian light to go green. Before that happens though I get tapped on the shoulder and turn to see my doppelganger In front of me grinning as he speaks.

"Sorry about this buddy but you're needed elsewhere."

And with that he gives me a solid shove and I stumble back onto the road right into the path of an oncoming SUV, and the world as I know it ceases to exist as I experience a moment of intense pain before I die.

When I wake I am surprised to find that I am not In Heaven or Hell or even In a hospital bed, but rather lying down in complete darkness, or at least what I perceive to be darkness I can feel when my eyes are open but I can't see anything so I could be blind, although my other senses seem to be working fine and I'm not in any pain so I'll just stay positive and assume that my eyes still work for the time being.

"Ah you're awake at last." my doubles voice echoes across the room. _Is this even a room?_

"Huh?" I sit up and look around but still can't see anything and I'm starting to wonder If I actually am blind because he can apparently see me.

"Oh! Sorry my friend, I always forget you humans can't see in the dark without some technological assistance?" As the area(There are no walls or ceiling so it's not a room, but there doesn't appear to be anything resembling a sky either) Is bathed In a white light I realise that he is speaking with a thick South African accent, that for some reason I couldn't place before. _Wait he said 'you humans' what the hell is he then? And where the hell am I? And how did I get here? And why on earth am I here at all?_

As I turn to face him I summarise all these questions and more with a simple "What the fuck?"

His voice changes to a scolding tone "Now I realise that you have been under quite a lot of stress lately, but that is no reason to start using language like that my friend. Your mother raised you better than that James."

I just stare at him incredulously for a few seconds as I wait for him to continue.

"Oh, of course! You wish to know why I've brought you here?"

"Amongst other things. Yeah I do." I reply as I get to my feet, taking note of the fact that I'm still wearing my suit.

"Please excuse my thoughtlessness, you are here because your services are required In order to save a galaxy of races from extinction. As to why I killed you, It had to be done In order for me to get you here and eventually onto the galaxy that we wish you to save."

"Wait!" Although I was already fairly certain that I had been killed hearing that I was in fact dead was a shock to the system. "I'm actually dead?"

The ever present smile that he had been wearing ever since the funeral slipped away for a moment as he put on what looked like a thoughtful expression. "Yes and no. Yes in the universe you come from you are dead and everyone there believes it as your body was fatally damaged when you got hit by that drunk driver. That should teach him to drink and drive, and It was four in the afternoon for heaven's sake! Who gets drunk that early! And what if he had hit a kid?"

I decide to interrupt and refocus him. "I fully agree but you're a bit off topic."

The smile returns "Ah yes, you are not dead in the universe you are being sent to. You are merely unconscious there. I apologise for getting sidetracked I am presently also setting up your history within the galaxy I am sending you to, and it takes most of my concentration."

"That's ... fine." I hesitantly state silently wondering whether or not I am hallucinating.

I mull over my predicament for a moment before starting again "I'm going to work on the assumption that I'm not crazy or hallucinating for the time being."

"A good platform to work off, I find."

"Yeah, um, who are you, who Is the we you were referring to, and why do you look like me?"

He responds instantly "Well I don't actually have a name, but you can call me Thanos. NO, wait he's a villain isn't he, ah Galactus. No he's a villain too kind of and I don't eat planets, um?"

"Ah I have it, call me the Watcher."

"You're a Marvel fan huh? Isn't the Watcher passive?"

"Yes I am a fan well this time around anyway." _This time? What? _"The Watcher Is the closest analogy I can make for myself. Obviously I'm not passive, I'm active maybe you should call me the Active Watcher. No that's no good, the Watcher will be fine."

Before he starts again I decide to refocus him, "Ok, Watcher, who is 'we' and why do you look like me?"

"'We' is myself obviously and others like me, I suppose for the sake of simplicity you could just call us the Watchers. As to why I look like you, that was simply a way to grab your attention."

"I guess that explains the clothes too." I muse.

He frowns "What's wrong with my clothes? I think I look good, though maybe I should have gone with a bow tie. Bow ties are cool."

Again I decide to refocus the conversation "You said you want me to save a galaxy? What makes me so special? Why me?"

He smiles again "Straight to the heart of the matter I see. Very good I like that. You ask why you were selected, well the answer Is relatively simple actually. You meet all of the required criteria for success In the task set before you to be achievable."

I wait for him to continue but the scatterbrained supernatural South African version of me obviously thinks that was a sufficient answer so I press him for information once more. "What criteria?"

"Oh yes how silly of me, you are creative and of above average intelligence, you are relatively level headed and make good decisions based on a strong and healthy sense of morality, you have a unique personality and a relatively selfless nature that should gel quite well with your most necessary ally. You have little attachment to the world you are leaving which means you are unlikely to actively pursue the means to go back to your original universe. Although you're not as strong as you could be, you have very good eye-hand coordination and spatial awareness for the most part. "

"Most importantly you have a significant amount of knowledge about the people, places and events you will most assuredly encounter in your travels."

I ponder this for a second before replying.

"How could I possibly know the people I meet and what will happen In a place I have never even seen before?"

His grin grows to new heights making it look like he's had a lethal dosage of Botox injected into his face. "Oh my friend, but you have seen it all before, or at least possible variations on what can happen and who you will meet."

The confusion I'm experiencing must be evident on my face because he quickly continues.

"Let me put it this way, You would refer to this reality as the Mass Effect universe."

My eyes widen in surprise and my mind is instantly filled with the enormity of the task he wants me to complete.

"The task you have set before you will require a lot of care and balance. If you do too little or nothing Shepard will be unable to attain victory, however If you do too much things will end badly as well."

"If you are to make enough of a difference you will need to be on Shepards crew at least initially, simply joining C-Sec or the Alliance will have an effect but will ultimately be insufficient no matter how well you do. On the other hand telling Shepard everything as soon as possible would be catastrophic as she either won't believe you or will take a path far different than the one that she should. Also groups such as Cerberus or the Shadow Broker would come after you if it became evident that you knew the future, bringing undue pressure onto yourself and by proxy Shepard herself."

I mull this over for a second before replying "Ok, so I give Shepard my unconditional support, backing her up where ever possible and see if I can nudge her in the right direction on things, and maybe save a life here and there of someone who would have died otherwise?" He nods, his smile unfaltering and very creepy now.

"Whilst not revealing that I know the future?"

He nods again but inserts "Shepard can know that you know elements of the future but not what precisely it is that you know or knew, until after it happened. I would not advise telling her that you know anything until you have gained a high level of trust and even then only when you are certain it is the best course of action. Also I would sweep for bugs if you do take that course of action."

What he has said makes sense to me so this time I nod but some other possibilities occur to me "What If I were to get a hold of the Prothean vi on Thessia or save Shepard from getting spaced?"

"Taking the vi would likely cause the Asari government to send Spectres or Justicars after you and the Shadow Broker and Cerberus would likely notice and be after you not only because of the vi but also because they would want to know how you knew where it was when neither of their intelligence networks had even uncovered its existence. As for saving Shepard It could work out for the better as she would potentially have two more years to work, however this likely cut Shepard off from Cerberus and the SR2, as well as her implants that made her faster and stronger. EDI, Miranda and Jacob would all stay with Cerberus for longer and likely fight against Shepard. Jack would most likely stay imprisoned and any number of things could happen to Grunt."

"You should also consider that either one of these actions would invalidate most of the knowledge you have of what happens to Shepard and her crew, and any major changes along these lines is a huge gamble. Also consider this, the earlier you make a change the bigger the ripple effect on the timeline. Say you manage to acquire evidence of Saren's involvement in the attack on Eden Prime before the first Council hearing, there would then be no need for Shepard to go and deal with Garrus Wrex and Tali. Subtle changes to the story as a whole will almost always be your best course of action."

I nod once more but I see a problem with all of this "I don't have the strength, skill or experience that I would need to keep up with Shepard in a fight, I don't even have a way onto her crew unless that's the background you were talking about."

"Not yet. You don't have the strength, skill or experience yet, but what you do have, my friend, is time. I am inserting you into the universe almost three years before the attack on Eden Prime, that should be more than enough time for you to acquire the strength, skill and experience you need to keep up. As for getting onto the crew I am certain that you are smart enough to get yourself aboard given enough preparation."

As nervous as I am about becoming a soldier and fighting a war against an enemy that could wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy, I can't help but feel a little excited about the prospect of experiencing life aboard the Normandy, and meeting all my favourite characters. A grin overtakes my face as a result.

The Watcher notices and frowns as he interrupts with an unusually serious tone "You must understand this will not be a game, these are real people that have real emotions. They are constrained completely by the laws of physics in this reality, If you or anybody else dies they're dead. If you and Shepard fail to stop Saren or the Collectors there will be no mission restarts, no save files to fall back on and before you ask I cannot do anymore than I already have. There are rules I need to follow all I will be able to do from this point forward Is offer an occasional piece of advice."

I nod in understanding as he continues in a more positive manner "On that note I suggest you feign memory loss and do plenty of research in order to get by."

"Also keep in mind the changes made so that the story could be made into the Mass Effect trilogy. There will be more people, including an abundance of children, there won't be those pesky invisible walls, the characters will look and sound a little different, you won't hear the voice of Jennifer Hale and she won't look like exactly like either version of the default femshep."

He closes the final distance between us as he speaks "Alas, it is time for you to go my friend, your body is unfortunately In some danger. I know you have more questions but you really need to wake up now."

And with that he puts his finger to my forehead, and it is the last thing I see before my life starts anew.

* * *

**The next chapters already half written, so it shouldn't be long, let me know what you think of 'the Watcher' your reviews will affect how often he shows up. Thanks for reading. Hackett... uh I mean Trashkan Out!**


	2. A Day of Firsts

**Here as promised Is the second chapter. Specific thoughts are in italics. Enjoy!**

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My mind returns to consciousness almost immediately, only I'm no longer in the white 'area'. Instead I'm in a room with metal walls and floors being dragged by my ankles. I look up to see a man with brown skin dragging me towards a doorway as he speaks with a harsh voice "If he's still out now he must be brain dead, so I'm shoving him out of an airlock, that's always fun to watch."

Another harsh voice across the room replies as my vision clears "That's only if they're awake you idiot." and I gasp as I realise it's me there talking about.

The 'man' (or Batarian as my mind corrects me) must've heard me because he drops my right leg and turns around to look at me.

Big Mistake.

I use my newly freed limb and his surprise to my advantage, as I deliver a kick straight between his legs. I know it's a dirty move, but I'm fighting for my life here and these guys are probably slavers or pirates or something. My educated guess at Batarian anatomy pays off as he groans and hunches forward, clearly experiencing quite some pain. I suppress my moment of sympathy and press my advantage even further, launching another kick, this time at the arm holding my left leg in an effort to free it.

To my delight the move works and he drops my left leg, but I'm all too aware of my precarious position on the ground with two hostile Batarians in the room, the second of which is turning to see what his buddy is groaning about. I know I need to keep moving or my new life will be over before it's even begun, so I twist my body and roll onto my knees and in a move that required agility I didn't even know I had, I jump to my feet and ram my shoulder into the chest of my first opponent shoving him harshly back against the side of the door frame.

He groans once more but I don't let up, I need to deal with him quickly so I go after the next vulnerable point I can find. With both hands I shove my fingers into his eyes with as much force as I can manage and he screams out In agony and pushes me back with his shoulder turning away from me and towards his partner as he covers his eyes.

Out of the corner of my eye I spot the other Batarian drawing his shotgun, so I dart behind his blinded compatriot and pull his sidearm off the clamp on his hip using my right arm as my left goes around his neck pulling his back to my chest so I can use him as a shield. The second one apparently doesn't care about my hostage because he unloads a round from his gun straight into his partners stomach.

The sidearm expands in my grasp as I extend my arm to point It at my armed foe as he unloads another round this time into the chest of my 'human' shield. I don't hesitate, firing as many shots as I can into my attacker until my weapon overheats, beeping in warning as it vents the built up heat.

Fortunately the last two rounds penetrate his shielding one piercing his stomach, the other entering his right shoulder. This Is enough to get him to drop his weapon and fall back against the wall where he slides to the ground, probably in some kind of shock I guess. I drop my now dead hostage and move cautiously towards my other opponent, cupping my left hand underneath my right for stability. As I get closer I shove the shotgun further away from him with my foot, like I've seen before in movies and cop shows, but it doesn't matter because he stops breathing.

I take a moment to concentrate on my breathing and calm down, wondering how on Earth I managed to beat and kill two armed opponents. That's when reality decides to catch up with me.

"Oh god, I just killed somebody!" I mutter out loud.

It takes a moment longer for me to fully comprehend that the somebody I killed wasn't even human and then there's the little fact that I am probably on a spaceship in space since they mentioned an airlock. Those thoughts alone are enough to make me stumble over against the wall where I hunch over and throw up.

Knowing you're going to a different universe where you will have to fight and kill others just to survive is one thing, actually doing it is something else entirely.

Still leaning against the wall, I pull myself upright and take a moment to compose myself before I wander over to the shotgun lying on the floor. Not having anything to attach it to, I fiddle with my sidearm switching on what I am 68% certain is a safety, before sliding It into the waistband of my pants at my back. I notice that I am no longer wearing the suit I had on before, now I'm wearing some relatively simple dark blue pants and shirt, as well as some black boots and a jacket made out of some sort of faux leather. _Well at least I won't stand out as much, would have preferred armour though._

After bending over to retrieve the shotgun, I start a thorough examination of the rest of my surroundings, and discover some empty cages on the far side of the room(probably where I was being kept) but nothing else of any interest. It's only once I move towards the doorway that it even occurs to me to check the bodies as well, I move over to the one against the wall and search him, discovering what I presume to be a credit chit. Probably need an omni-tool to find out for certain.

Now there's something I could use, I check his shotgun blasted comrade and find what could possibly be an omni-tool. _A spare? or maybe it's meant for me?_ I carefully bring the small thin circular object and slide it onto my left wrist and after a moment or two the object shrinks and becomes almost invisible to the naked eye, but nothing else happens.

"This has got to be it come on already!"

_Thought activated maybe? Omni-tool start._

An orange glow envelops my hand and a screen of sorts appears.

"Eureka!"_ did I seriously just call out eureka? mental face-palm. Hmm a Bluewire III, pretty basic I think but better than nothing. What am I thinking? I have a freaking omni-tool! That's awesome!_

The smile on my face vanished with my next line of thought.

_So, time to explore the pirate ship, or is it a slaver ship? Is there even a difference? I guess it doesn't matter in the end. Either way the 'Watcher' stuck me in captivity. Is that bastard trying to get me killed before I even get started? Oh wait he's already done that. Why did he even call himself the 'Watcher'? He's nothing like the character, maybe he just likes the name?_

I cut off my own internal ranting and move through the doorway and into a long hallway with several doors. A part of me was hoping there was no more of the slavers on board, but the rest of me knew that the chances of that were slim to none.

_Though if there were any in this part of the ship they would've heard the gunfire, so that's something at least. Oh awesome!_

Green, orange or red symbols appeared on each of the doors indicating their level of accessibility. Whether the omni-tool was directly interfacing with the sight centre of my brain or just displaying some sort of hologram, I couldn't be certain although probably the later, cause the former sounds just plain dangerous.

I move slowly down the hallway, shotgun held to the inside of my shoulder like my father showed me once, carefully listening out for anything whilst attempting to make as little sound as I possibly can. I realise I should come up with some kind of plan, but what sort of plan?

_Should I find an escape pod or a shuttle? If I do can I even fly it? Or should I search the ship and attempt to take out the slavers? That seems like suicide without training, or maybe that's the point? Maybe the 'Watcher' wants me to get used to suicide missions already? There's certainly plenty of them yet to come. Although I don't even know whether there's anybody else on board. Screw it, I'm just going to wing it._

I'm almost at the end of the hallway when I hear something coming from the other side, that sounds like gunshots and a scream. _Are they fighting in there? And if so who's fighting who?_

Any further internal queries are interrupted by the door at the end of the hallway opening and a panicking Batarian running through. We both freeze as our eyes interlock whilst the sounds of the fight reach my ears, no longer obscured due to the door being open.

A second seems to take a life time as we both stare at each other wide-eyed before we raise our weapons and fire.

I watch as the Batarian Is knocked onto his back, I'm fairly certain he was dead before he hit the ground as my shot passed through his face and into the back of his skull. I realise this straight away although for the life of me I'm not certain why I'm thinking about that when I just got shot. _He did fire, didn't he? He couldn't possibly have missed at that range so why do I feel ok?_

I look down and see a small red stain on my side, just above my waistline. _He only grazed me?_

A serene voice brings me back to reality "You wonder how you survived." It was a statement not a question.

I look up to see the face of an Asari, wearing a skin tight red suit that left little to the imagination as far as her cleavage was concerned. _Is that Samara?_ I gasp but she ignores it and continues talking.

"You hesitated, but he panicked. Your aim was true whilst his was not that is how you survived. My name is Samara, I am a servant of the Justicar code. You are on a ship belonging to Batarian slavers, but you are Human and armed. Tell me are we friend, or foe?"

I notice that she sounds a little... wiser if that makes any sense, and looks more peaceful. _Oh great now I'm describing her appearance as peaceful, what the hell is wrong with me although I guess he was right about them looking and sounding different. _I rapidly blink a couple of times before a broad grin gets plastered across my face and my brain kicks into gear again. "Friend, I am definitely a friend. It is an honour to meet you Samara and may I say thank you for saving my life, I'm sure I would not have survived for much longer without your assistance. I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself, My name's Flynn, James Flynn."

"It is good to meet you James Flynn" _There's that serene voice again, Samaras voice, hehe my first celebrity. _ She moves past me with a smooth gliding gait, quickly applies some medi-gel to my open wound and opens the first door to reveal a storage room of some description. With her back still turned towards me as she conducts a short search of the room, (_She must already trust me on some level, or maybe she doesn't consider me a threat._) she asks me "James Flynn, are you aware of any others aboard this vessel?"

I reply instantly "Nobody other than the two guards I overpowered, and please call me Flynn."

She turns towards me with an expression that betrays none of the doubt conveyed in her following query "You overpowered two armed Batarians with your bare hands? You do not appear very strong and I can tell you are inexperienced with firearms."

An uneasy grin appears on my face "Well when you put it that way it doesn't sound very convincing. They were planning on shoving me out of an airlock, when I woke I took one of them by surprise and kicked him hard before I took his weapon. His partner turned and opened fire but only hit the first guy that I was using as a shield, I fired back and he didn't last long."

I frown and look down before quietly adding "He was the first person I've ever killed, and now I've killed another"

Samara nods in acceptance of my unlikely but true story, before she turns and continues her search. I follow along not because I think she needs my help, (I'm quite certain she could take on a couple dozen of the guys at the same time and come out on top) but because her presence has a calming effect, (I think it's the voice mostly) in any case I'm not really paying any attention at the moment whilst I silently contemplate what my actions mean to me.

The centuries old Justicar speaks again "Flynn, taking a life for the first time is no easy thing to come to terms with for most, but you can take comfort in the fact that had you not succeeded, they would have killed you, aspired to kill me and only Goddess knows how many more."

I nod in acceptance of her wisdom before I respond "Thank you again Samara, if there is anything I can do to even begin repaying you, just let me know."

* * *

Over the course of our exploration of the ship we don't find any more pirates, or supplies for that matter. However the two of us get to talking and I discover that she was travelling as a passenger on a small privately owned frigate headed for the Citadel. Apparently the pirates decided to raid the civilian vessel, but were horribly underprepared for dealing with someone of Samara's ability.

When she asks about how I ended up as a prisoner, I feign almost complete memory loss and explain to her that I don't know how I ended up here.(which is technically true, I know the Watcher put me here and I know why but I don't know how.) When she asks what I do remember I tell her that all I know for certain is that I am twenty-one years old and my family is dead. (This is also true so far as my life in this universe goes but I still see this as a lie.)

The captain and owner of the frigate sends some of their crew over to take the slaver ship with them. After Samara reassures him of my innocence, he welcomes me aboard and informs us of his plan to sell the salvaged ship and share the profits with us since we protected his ship and crew by taking out the Batarians. My first instinct is to decline since I was merely attempting to survive, but I accept the payment because I realise that I have little in the way of finances and will likely have to pay for my training and equipment on top of my standard living costs.

Shortly after we start moving again I realise that I've been in space for a few hours now, but I am yet to look at the stars. Growing up in Brisbane, opportunities to look up at the stars were few and far between, but those occasions were nothing compared to witnessing the vast expanse of space without the distortion of Earth's atmosphere. I sit there for quite some time before Samara enters the room and asks to join me. Having already gained a strong insight into the Justicar's personality and character in my time spent playing Mass Effect 2, we easily converse for quite some time. I have to remind myself to be careful, so I don't inadvertently reveal my knowledge about her daughters, the Reapers, Collectors or anything along those lines; but the conversation is easy going and more enjoyable than any I have had in quite some time, so much so that I find myself looking forward to meeting again on the SR2 and forging a proper friendship.

The conversation isn't entirely social though, I pick up on a couple of relatively minor changes to the timeline through our conversation apparently the Skyllian Blitz, the slaughter on Akuze and the raid on Torfan all happened earlier this year(2180) instead of 2176, 2177 and 2178 respectively. I'm not certain which of these events Shepard was involved in,(although due to what the Watcher said I'm fairly certain it wasn't Torfan) but I theorize that the real Shepard may be a few years younger than the Shepard of the game. I haven't got the faintest idea as to what all of this could mean in the long run but I make a mental note to look into the differences in any of the significant people, places and events.

* * *

A few hours later I'm sitting alone in the mess hall having just eaten for the first time in 166 years, when I remember I have an omni-tool now. So I start it up and don't notice anything too surprising, just a list of standard applications; but then I notice a surprising message in my inbox from the Watcher.

Hello, my friend

Good to see you found your omni-tool, I was worried you might not find it at first. Also I am terribly sorry about the Batarians but I knew, you could beat those two, and I nudged the Pirates in the direction of everyone's favourite Justicar. I know I said I couldn't help you anymore but this was really just me correcting my mistake. From here on out you're flying solo my friend.

I know you meeting Samara is a unusual move this early but It shouldn't affect the timeline too badly if you part ways at the Citadel. She will still end up hunting Morinth on Illium next time you meet, provided you and Shepard are still giving those metallic bastards hell.

This should be the last time you hear from me for a while, I wish you the best of luck in your galaxy saving endeavours. This message will self-destruct in ten seconds. Hehe just kidding, it will automatically delete itself once you're done though.

See you later my friend.

W

I stare at the blank screen for a few minutes after the message disappeared pondering his point about Samara. I agree that meeting Samara under these circumstances won't matter too much in the long run; however that might not be the case if I run into other squad members before it's time. I make my tenth new mental note of the day to keep my eyes and ears open wherever I go so I can try and avoid meeting the major players too soon.

With that done I check the ships time and se that we are still nine hours away from the Citadel, so I head over to the bunk the captain provided to me so I can get some shut eye. I fall asleep almost instantly, a dreamless slumber overtaking me.

* * *

**So that's chapter two, let me know what you think, especially on the Samara cameo. For those wondering the three year gap is slated for the next chapter, Eden Prime should be covered in chapter four.**


	3. Training

**Here's Chapter 3, Enjoy!**

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Seeing the Citadel for the first time is not an experience you ever forget, the Widow system alone is a magnificent sight, but then you see it; the tower in the centre surrounded by the five arms, the single largest structure in existence older than any known civilisation Then there's the ships; the Destiny Ascension and the rest of the Citadel fleet, with privately owned ships and the odd Alliance vessel. In truth the games couldn't even begin to do it justice.

However the feeling of wonder you get approaching the Citadel is soured by the bureaucratic hellhole that Is called processing. C-Sec loves its rules and guidelines and for the first time I truly feel sorry for Garrus and Bailey. Getting questioned by the douche bag Harkin while he shamelessly leered at an Asari co-worker was insanely annoying and that was after the hour long wait and the mandatory paperwork for all first time arrivals. The fact that I was armed certainly didn't speed things up either. Fortunately Samara had found me a belt with functioning magnetic clamps to store my weapons on, as well as a small shield generator. Two more things that I now owe her for.

It was only after stepping out of C-Sec that I realised I didn't really have anything resembling a plan. I needed credits and according to the captain the sale of the slaver ship was going to take a couple of days to go through. Fortunately I did have the credits I'd retrieved from my kills, unfortunately it was only enough for a couple of meals at best.

_Maybe I can get some store keeper to take pity on me and give me a job._ I can vaguely recall a conversation Shepard has with Tali about Quarians only stealing because none of them can get work which is nuts because the Quarians have so many tech experts that could be so valuable as employees. _Hmm there's an idea, if I can get enough credits together I could pay a pilgrim to tutor me in engineering. I'm saving that idea for later, first things first, I need cash. Maybe those racist shopkeepers would take a chance on a human with 'memory loss'. A store selling weapons and armour would be preferable. I'll probably have to sleep at a shelter for the time being though._

Now for a bit of history, back in the good old twenty-first century I was about five months from completing a Bachelor of Engineering. Now I realise that a lot has changed on the technology front over the century and a half since then, and that since this is an alternate universe there may be something fundamentally different,(Element Zero being a strong likelihood) but the some of the basic concepts probably wouldn't have changed. This means that my past education and experience would be of some use now, and I have always had an interest in new technology so becoming an infiltrator or engineer class seems like my best bet.

With all of this In mind I head over to the nearest Avina terminal(So much cooler in reality, still a little annoying though) and search for weapons manufacturers. A long list of company names pops up; but two names stand out to me Armax Arsenal and Kassa Fabrication. I can recall Armax being a the major sponsor for the combat simulator in the Citadel DLC as well as a decent armour manufacturer. I also remember the Kassa locust in ME2 and 3, with its awesome accuracy.(for a sub-machine gun anyway) So those two seemed like a good place to start.

After looking them up I start moving in the direction of the market, whilst I search my omni-tool for personal information. I figure the Watcher has got to have set me up with at least a resume or something. What I found stopped me in my tracks as I let out a gasp.

There was a resume, I had expected as much; but there was also an account number in a neighbouring file with a note attached that simply read 'Inheritance'. _Of course, he set me up with a future version of my family with a future version of my inheritance. Ok change of plans, I need a banker and maybe a real estate agent, or whatever they'd call them here._

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The inheritance I had received was substantial; with it I was able to purchase two apartments, a sky car, a top of the line omni-tool, some light armour, a high quality set of weapons and still have a significant reserve left over. After some careful consideration I also chose to purchase some gene mods, so I dragged myself down to Dr. Michel's clinic in the wards for some advice on the matter. I know intentionally seeking out a character from the games seems reckless but I needed medical advice I know is reliable, as far as the story goes the doctor's only really needed to point you in Tali's direction, and she would remain quiet about any medical issue I talk to her about anyway. In any case I ended up receiving a nice set of Alliance infiltrator class gene modifications.

I chose to rent out the more expensive of the two apartments I purchased, which earned me a steady income that could cover all of my living expenses; the credits left over from my inheritance as well as my share of the profit from the sale of the slaver ship, left me with a significant reserve fund that could earn a tidy amount of interest until I need it. Meanwhile I chose to reside In a smaller two bedroom apartment which wasn't far from C-Sec headquarters and the Alliance docks.

After six months on the Citadel I have set up a pretty solid routine. Most mornings I start by waking up early, working out for thirty minutes, having breakfast and then going for a nice long run. (I knew that stamina was an absolute necessity to keep up with the likes of Shepard and Wrex; the gene mods alone wouldn't do all the work) A little later in the day I go for my daily half shift at Kassa Fabrications (Armax Arsenal is apparently a Turian manufacturer with an all Turian staff. I'm not certain If they're racist or if this is for public relations on Palaven) After work I take an hour to catch up on the news, keeping my ears open for anything involving the Council, Saren, Shepard, the Alliance etc.

I'd then either work on my tech skills with my Quarian flat mate and friend, Feda'Mal nar Moreh, or head off to a Krav Maga class, run by an Israeli who was rumoured to be former Mossad. Both aspects of my training were coming along nicely; my ability as an engineer was improving steadily and my reflexes, balance, ability to handle pain and of course my hand to hand combat was coming along quite nicely as well.

My hope and intent was to be second only to Tali as far as tech skills were concerned, and second only to Garrus as far as my sniping ability went; becoming part engineer, part infiltrator. The engineer side of things was coming along very well; the infiltrator side, not so much. Whenever I got the chance I had been heading down to a combat simulator; in part to gain a familiarity with all types of firearms, but primarily in order to achieve a high level of proficiency with sniper rifles. This plan helped with my accuracy greatly, but I was lacking the other skills necessary to become a premier infiltrator. I didn't know how to fight within a team or position myself properly on the battlefield.

I couldn't find a skilled infiltrator to learn from though so I decided to go for the next best thing; I generalised my searches and found myself a marine instructor in the form of the retired Operations Chief Dyson Hobbs who was living in a small apartment down on the wards. Once I had assured him that I wasn't going to do something foolish like join a mercenary group or become a vigilante, he agreed to teach me all he could about basic Alliance communications protocols, hand signals and squad tactics; for a substantial fee of course.

Considering three of the seven squad members I would be working with were Alliance, Hobbs was like a gold mine of useful information. Like most marines he had been trained in the use of all standard firearms, so he was able to help me with my positioning and teamwork. The Alliance communication protocols were obviously outdated, but gave me a pretty good idea about what I'd be dealing with, and I saw my scores improve dramatically within the simulator when I employed his techniques; so for now at least I'd say it was money well spent.

Three months later Hobbs told me that he'd taught me all he could and I would need real field experience if I wanted to get any better. He wished me luck in my future endeavours and we said our goodbyes.

After a year and two months on the citadel, Feda told me that I had surpassed him in skill as a combat engineer. We promised each other to keep in contact before the frugal bosht'et (as he liked to call himself) flew back to the Migrant Fleet with a small second-hand frigate he had bought and fixed up himself.

All of this meant I had finished the training phase of my plan. I knew I needed actual real world experience because theory and combat simulators can only get you so far. I determined that going and throwing myself into the Terminus systems to pull an Archangel; taking down mercenaries, pirates and the like would be reckless, but doing nothing would be pointless. So I kept up on the latest technological advancements and I kept going to my Krav Maga classes and combat simulator sessions, but a week after Feda left I quit my job at Kassa Fabrications and started working as a private investigator. To me this seemed like the most practical way to get in the odd bit of real world combat experience; so I could be ready to join Shepard without doing anything that was likely to negatively affect the timeline

Speaking of Shepard, I had done my research on the future Spectre and found that she had been raised on ships by her mother.(so a spacer background) I had also discovered that Lt Commander Alexandra Shepard was regarded as the most powerful and skilled biotic within the Alliance, she liked her shotguns and was classed as a vanguard. As for her military history, she had survived the disaster that was Akuze in mid January 2180, and then In late February while on shore leave she almost singlehandedly held of the attack on Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz. (so she had the sole survivor and war hero military backgrounds) Curiously enough she is only twenty-four now making her noticeably younger than the Commander Shepard of the games. This also makes her rank and achievements, that much more impressive.

**A/N** For those who are wondering, with the colonist background Shepard is sixteen when she is rescued from Mindoir in 2170. Depending on when her birthday is that would've made her twenty-seven or twenty-eight in 2181 and twenty-nine or thirty when Eden Prime gets hit.

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**So that's chapter three, smaller than it's predecessors. It was originally meant to span the entire three years between arriving and Eden prime, but I'm having far to much fun with the PI angle for the moment, also had a couple of neat little plot ideas come up so the next chapter should compensate nicely for this one. This also means Eden Prime's being pushed back to chapter 5.**

**Thanks for the all the reviews and favs guys.**

**Special thanks to Michae1ange1o for pointing out the gene mods,(wouldn't have thought about it otherwise) and I get what you mean with Samara but that's not the way I'm taking this fic, and I do intend to cover Flynns point of view about that later.**

**Also jedielfsorcerer, in hindsight I see your point but Flynns actions and reaction's are meant more as good instincts, quick thinking and a big load of adrenaline, rather than past forgotten experiences that his body has had. Thank you for your input, It may have inspired a thing or two that I'm considering for later.**

**As always please let me know what you think with reviews.**

**Stay classy San Diego. **


	4. Hugging a Krogan

**Chapter 4 Plenty of action in this one. enjoy!**

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My work as a private investigator started out slowly, I had acquired a license from C-Sec, but I didn't have any reputation to work off of so I started by using by what I call the 'Shepard method' Which involves walking up to people asking them about their problems and offering assistance. It was slow going at first, I only picked up two paying cases in the first month, but then word of mouth started working for me as someone would tell their friends, then they'd tell theirs and before I knew it I had a full caseload. Money wasn't a major factor in the cases I took, I just didn't need it; I made certain I never broke the law because I couldn't afford to be arrested by C-Sec(It might jeopardise my spot onboard the SR1) and I stayed away from clients just wanting dirt on a colleague or family member.

My methods were getting results, and earning me a solid reputation as an investigator; So much so that It became common practice for a client to seek me out whenever they felt that C-Sec was dragging their feet. It was one such case that put me on the trail of a group of Red Sand smugglers that had been dropping off tainted product throughout one of the wards. The kids of a couple of clients had overdosed on the stuff, but C-Sec hadn't been able to track down the suppliers. This case ended up bringing with it my first taste of real combat since I killed those Batarians sixteen months earlier.

The plan I made up was relatively simple, I would locate and track one of the dealers to his supply point, which I would then stakeout until someone showed up with the product and track them back to their warehouse. It had taken me two days to find the warehouse down at one of the lesser used docks, and now I was just ready to call it in to C-sec when I heard a scream from my vantage point down the street. Two thugs(one Human, one Turian) had a hold on a young raven haired Human girl who couldn't have been older than sixteen, and they were dragging her inside.

_Ah crap, she's probably going to get killed in there! _I made a quick call to my contact in C-Sec before I move as quickly and quietly as I can manage towards the entrance they had taken her through; drawing up a plan in my mind for getting the girl to safety. Crouching down behind a sky car parked fairly close to the entrance, I bring up my omni-tool and successfully hack remotely into the buildings security system in under four seconds. _Thank you Feda._ I put a visor I had been carrying over my left eye before setting up the omni-tool to display the warehouses security camera feeds on it.

A mechanical whine gets my attention. I quickly realise they're closing the doors and I know the girl's likely to be executed the moment C-Sec shows up; so In one swift move I jump to my feet and draw my Razer VII.(Kassa Fabrications pistol) Sprinting towards the door, I carefully slide underneath It, narrowly missing the underside of the door by a centimetre or two. Once through I scramble over behind a shipping container as I check the security feeds. I'm slightly disappointed when I realise that neither of them had noticed my stylish and timely entrance, but I forget all of that once I realise that there are at least nine thugs in the warehouse that I can see, and the girl is being held in the middle of them.

_I can't believe how thick I am, Of course there's going to be more than two thugs! What the hell am I doing? I'm trying to save a life! But how am I going to manage that? And why couldn't this have been a job I could take my armour on? Ok, calm down and think, just think! What do I have? I have my Razer with incendiary rounds, my knife, a pretty good shield generator and my omni-tool. Ok, I can hit them with an overload or a sabotage, those should help take town a few of em down. But how do I take down all eight? I need an extra advantage to stand a real chance here._

A moment of clarity strikes me as I realise I've had all the advantages I need since I hacked into their system and got inside undetected. I construct a more solid plan as I observe the thugs movements and listen in on their interrogation.

"I didn't do anything, I swear!" the teenager pleads with her captor.

"You were hiding right across the street and you think I'm going to believe that, you little bitch!"Her interrogator(the Human from before) screams at her before landing a blow across her face. "You were going to run off to C-Sec weren't you? Get yourself a credit or two?" She remains silent. "Answer me bitch!" He hits her again just as I am peeking out of cover to judge the distance I'll have to move to get to them, and to my surprise I find that the girl is looking straight at me.

I pull my head back and for a moment I think that her gaze is going to give away my presence to her interrogator; instead through the surveillance system I see a calm but otherwise indecipherable look that flashes across her face before she turns her gaze up to the face of the Human in front of her, tears then start streaming down her face almost spontaneously and she starts spluttering "I was only doing what you told me to, Tommy?" _Wait, what? How did she know his name?_

I wasn't the only one to be caught off guard by this, a clearly confused 'Tommy' screamed at her again "What are you talking about bitch?" _Bitch again? Really Tommy?_

Another human steps a little closer and speaks uncertainly to Tommy "How's she know your name Boss?"

Tommy spins towards him clearly fuming about being interrupted and is about to say something, but the girl beats him to it. Now apparently panicking she looks all over the place as she speaks "Um... no I didn't! Ah, I heard you say it earlier." clearly lying she nods towards the second human thug who spoke up. The guards nearby are all looking at Tommy but I see the twitch of a smile being suppressed on the captives face. _Ah clever girl. Getting the underlings to question his loyalty. She deserves an Oscar for that performance. Do they still have the Oscars? Oh crap she's buying time for herself and I'm wasting it._

I spot a patrolling thug moving towards the opposite end of the container I'm hiding behind, so I silently move over to the corner he's approaching, prep my omni-tool, switch my visor to night vision mode, put away my Razer, pull my knife into my hand and wait. I hear the ill-fated thugs footsteps move right up to the corner, so I swing my left arm around the corner and jab the knife into his neck as my omni-tool does its job and shuts off the buildings power. I'm completely past my first opponent before the lights have even gone out. I faintly hear his body hitting the floor; his jugular severed and spurting blood all over the place. _I won't be using that move again unless I have to. Far too messy and gruesome._

The building is covered in darkness and the emergency lighting is going to kick in about twelve seconds but that's all the time I'll need. I silently sprint across the twelve metre gap between me and the girl, who is being held up by two of the beefier looking guards. Moving up behind them I move my knife into my left hand and draw my Razer with my right. I come to a stop right behind the trio, fire a round from my gun into the back of the head of the first guard whilst I jam my knife into the back of the second guards neck, effectively breaking it in the process.

The girl drops along with her captors; her legs unprepared for the sudden fall, but I manage to bring my arms around her waist before she collapses completely. Initially thinking I was one of Tommy's guys she squirms futilely attempting to break free from my grasp, then she realises that I'm not wearing armour like her former captors and complies with my unspoken directions. A couple of Tommy's guys panic and blindly open fire, not hitting anything of significance. I pull us back towards some crates of red sand, narrowly ducking down behind them before the backup generators kick in and the lights come back on. Tommy notices my handiwork, draws a shotgun and barks out "The little bitch has some friends! Find them and kill them!" _He thinks there's more of us? That could come in handy._

Now hidden from view behind cover I bring up my omni-tool and narrowly shutdown the buildings alarm, to lower the chances of having to face more than the five remaining smugglers; my efforts are all for nothing though because someone has managed to regain control of the doors and opens one on the far side of the warehouse letting five more into the room, including one nasty looking Krogan. I'm quite certain I could out hack this guy but I'm not in a position to risk it.

With ten opponents now aware of my presence I am counting on C-sec showing up to finish this fight, but I can't have an untrained and unarmed civilian in the middle of a fire fight so I start moving us towards a more heavily packed corner of the warehouse where I find a suitable hiding place amongst the crates and indicate for her to hide.

In response she shakes her head and whispers "No! No way are we just hiding! We need to get word to C-Sec."

I hiss back a reply "C-Sec is already on their way here, but I need to buy us time and I can't do that with an untrained teenager following me around."

Her eyes widen "You're going to take on the entire gang by yourself? Are you crazy?"

My lips curl upwards a little as I say "There's only eleven of them here." My smile widens "and only one of them is a Krogan." I have to suppress a laugh when I see the shocked look on her face. "Now stay here, I'm gonna thin out the herd a little." She nod's dumbly as I sprint off around the corner, tracking enemy position's over the cameras that I somehow still have control over.

I manage to locate lone shotgun wielding thug about seven metres down an aisle, slowly wandering in my direction. I move up to the corner, knife in my right hand once more; opting for the silent kill. He's moving forward at a snail's pace with his shotgun braced on the inside of his shoulder. I'm half considering circling around the crates and coming up behind him when the surveillance feed gets cut; though not before I see two guards moving towards a vantage point behind me. Realising my dawdling prey won't get to me in time I prepare sabotage and target his shotgun as I bolt around the corner. He sees me and steps back as he aims his gun at me and pulls the trigger, but when it doesn't fire and the signature beeping sound of an overheated weapon starts he pauses and looks down at his gun in confusion; giving me more than enough time to close the distance. He recovers in time to swing the handle of the shotgun at my head as he attempts to call for help, but I duck under the blow and silence him shoving my blade upwards into his throat.

I sheath my knife and retrieve the still overloaded shotgun, so I can even the odds a little; then I hear rapidly approaching footsteps. They may have overheard my most recent scuffle but given the fact that someone has been kicking me out of their systems I figure that it's more likely they've spotted me over the camera system, either way It's time to go loud. I raise my pistol, aim it the nearest camera and squeeze the trigger; with that done I take off in the opposite direction as I form my new plan.

_I'll keep moving, draw them away from the girl, blind them by taking out camera's, stay away from the Krogan, and pray that C-Sec hurries the hell up. That's actually not a bad plan, all things considered. They'll probably still feed me to the Krogan, but beggars can't be choosers._

After taking down another camera, I notice that my two immediate pursuers have separated by a couple of metres. _They're not together but still heading in the same direction? One of them must be too quick for his buddy. I can use this; pick em off one after the other!_ I put away my Razer and pull out the shotgun I retrieved earlier. _A Scimitar IX. Not bad for a warehouse guard. _Moving into cover behind a crate, I prepare overload whilst waiting for my pursuers to appear. I realise that without knowing where the rest of them are it's risky to stay in a position like this; exposed to any attack from behind, but I need to make sure they still see me as a major threat and there's no better way for me to do it.

I hit the first one with the overload the moment I see him. The Turian turns to fire his assault rifle but never gets the chance as the first round from my shotgun tears into his chest. His Human compatriot slides to a stop in front of his body and turns towards me as I fire three more rounds at him, tearing down his shields. He scrambles back towards cover, but my fifth shot hits him in the gut and the sixth clips his shoulder before he gets there. _He could survive that but he ain't coming after me with a hole in his gut!_

With their attention firmly on my location again I sprint off once more, taking out camera's when I see them, narrowly avoiding gun fire as they attempt to corral me. I haven't seen the Krogan since they brought him in though, and that worries me. _Could he have found the girl? God I hope not. If he gets to her all of this will have been for nothing! Nah, Krogan like proving they're the strongest he has to be trailing me somewhere._

As it turns out I was only partially correct for when I turn the next corner I'm greeted with a Krogan fist to my face, that sends me flying onto my back. My pistol goes flying and I'm fairly certain that my nose is broken, but I'm still conscious and very alert; so when I see the Krogan step in front of me with what looks Claymore in his hands I hit him with a sabotage just before he can rip me to shreds with it. When the shotgun fails to fire he growls something and raises the gun above his head; his intention to use it like a club. I roll to the side as his blow falls against the ground right where my head used to be. _Why didn't he just step on me? He would've killed me if he had._

I jump to my feet and attempt to scramble away from him but he manages to grab me before I can. Next thing I know I've been picked up off the ground and the Krogan Is quite literally trying to squeeze the life out of me. So much pain is ripping through my chest that my vision is beginning to cloud; I scream out in agony as I struggle to move my right hand to my omni-tool. Despite knowing that in this proximity It will likely hurt me more than him, I activate overload and cry out in pain once more. However the overload has the desired effect; the Krogans grip loosens and I am able to access my knife. I raise it up to his face and slide it under the plate on his forehead with as much force as I can muster.

This time the Krogan screams out In agony as he throws me halfway across the room, with the knife still implanted in his head. Now lying on the ground I groan as I turn to see the Krogan pull my knife out of his head and toss it to the floor. No longer having the strength to stand I pull the scimitar from my back and aim it at the enraged Krogan as he turns his attention back to me. His shields are still down from the overload so when I fire at his legs they get shredded and he falls to his knees before he can get to me. I know with his armour it would take at least half a dozen shots to kill a fast healing Krogan; I know I don't have that long though, so I overcharge the Scimitar and unleash a carnage shot into the wounded Krogans face at point blank range. It kills the Krogan instantly, but overheats my gun and showers me with his orange blood.

Despite the urge to throw up that the Krogan blood brings, I breathe a sigh of relief as my most pressing concern has been dealt with. I feel the need to get moving again so I push myself to get up. I figure my nose and at least two of my ribs are broken making breathing difficult and almost every action I take painful; my fingers and toes have a tingling sensation likely as a result of the overload and I'm fairly certain I have a concussion, but I need to keep moving or they'll find me. As I bend over to retrieve my discarded pistol a realisation hits me.

_Why haven't they found me? I wasn't exactly quiet in my struggle with the Krogan, so why aren't they here?_

An answer to my unspoken question arrives in the form of a cold metallic object being pressed into the back of my neck, accompanied by an equally cold voice. Tommy's voice. "So you're the little bitch that's been causing so much trouble. Drop your weapons and put your hands up" _I guess he figured out I'm on my own somehow. And now I'm a bitch? _"I gotta say I'm impressed someone like you could beat so many of my guys."

I need to stall so with my back still turned to him I reply "Ok, first things first, you need to come up with an insult other than bitch, you use it often enough that it suggests you have a dog fetish or something, also it's getting kinda predictable." _Why am I insulting him? How is that a good stalling tactic. Maybe it's the concussion talking? But anyway I may as well keep on going; People screw up when they're angry. _I hear him growl in annoyance but keep on talking anyway_"_ Secondly, with the exception of your pet Krogan, all of your guys were horrible fighters and we found that the only thing they excelled at was bleeding." The 'we' may be a little too subtle for someone of Tommy's intelligence, but if I can get him to believe that there really are more guys running around, killing his men; I can buy myself more time. "Thirdly..." Apparently he didn't like my previous statements because he hits me in the back pretty hard.

After a short bout of coughing up my lungs(_Oh Crap!_) I continue "Thirdly and finally you really should get yourself better security, It took me cutting the power for your guy to notice he even had a breach. That's Amateur work, I can assure you."

He snarls out his own line of questioning "Tell me who you are reporting to at C-Sec and I'll call off my boys search and let your little slut of a girlfriend go. If you don't tell me I'll make sure she dies painfully you hear me funny man?" _He wants my C-Sec contact, There's my lifeline! As long as I don't tell him that he has reason not to kill me._

I can't help but reply "You find me funny? Complimenting someone in an 'enhanced' interrogation Is kind of strange Tommy." He hits me in the back again and I silently pray that my lungs don't get too badly damaged through all of this.

"Answer me!" he screams.

Once I stop coughing again I start once more "You're right! You are totally right! I got off topic there, well done on the new insult you threw in there, anyways the real issue here is why you automatically assume she's my girlfriend. She's like fifteen or something, do you find her attractive? Are you a Paedophile?" I know the hits coming this time, and after a comment like that I deserve it. What I didn't expect was the extra force behind the blow would be enough to knock me on my face.

I automatically bring my arms down to brace my fall and in doing so I've provided myself with what will likely be my last opportunity to fight back against Tommy. With my body now shielding my arms from his view I bring up my omni-tool and activate overload on him. (Sabotage would overload the shotgun, but it wouldn't give me much of an opportunity to attack.) His shields come down and he stumbles forward a little in surprise. I take my chance rolling over and thrusting my legs around his before twisting them. Without his armour this move would've made him loose his footing and fall to the ground; however with the armour he just staggers back a bit before regaining his composure.

He's now completely enraged by my actions and aims his weapon at my head. I'm totally spent and have nothing left to fight him with so I expect a quick death when he fires. What I don't expect is a smaller raven-haired figure leaping through the air at Tommy, with my knife in hand as she plants it in his neck. It kills him pretty quickly, but not before he has a chance to fire at me. The mass accelerated shotgun round embedding itself in my shoulder. I succumb to exhaustion and blood loss moments later, the familiar grip of death embracing me shortly after.

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**So there's chapter 4, It ended up being about 2.5 times longer than I expected this section to be, so Eden Prime is getting pushed back again. I'm going to stop making promises in that regard. :P **

**As usual thanks for all the reviews and favs **

**Minor spoilers below**

**XRaiderV1 : Yes I have at least one other pairing planned, won't say who yet and I am considering others too.**

**jedielfsorcerer : Nice one. I've actually wanted to do something about that crazy Salarian since I started this story. I've have plans for him in the next chapter**


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